Born: 10 December 1891, Germany
Died: 12 May 1970
Country most active: Germany, Sweden
Also known as: SAX, Leonie Sachs
The following bio was written by Emma Rosen, author of On This Day She Made History: 366 Days With Women Who Shaped the World and This Day In Human Ingenuity & Discovery: 366 Days of Scientific Milestones with Women in the Spotlight, and has been republished with permission.
Nelly Sachs was born in Berlin-Schöneberg, Germany, to a Jewish family in 1891. She was a poet and playwright whose life was profoundly shaped by the horrors of World War II and the ascent of the Nazis in Europe, leading her to become a powerful voice representing the sorrows and aspirations of her fellow Jews.
In 1940, Sachs and her elderly mother fled to Sweden, thanks to the friendship with Selma Lagerlöf, who appealed to the Swedish royal family, securing their release from Germany. Sachs and her mother managed to escape on the final flight departing from Nazi Germany to Sweden, narrowly evading internment in a concentration camp. They found refuge in Sweden, where Sachs obtained Swedish citizenship in 1952.
Among her most renowned works is the play “Eli: Ein Mysterienspiel vom Leiden Israels” (1950). She also created impactful poems like “Zeichen im Sand” (1962) and “Verzauberung” (1970), along with poetry collections such as “In den Wohnungen des Todes” (1947), “Flucht und Verwandlung” (1959), “Fahrt ins Staublose” (1961), and “Suche nach Lebenden” (1971).
In recognition of her exceptional literary achievements, she received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1966 “for her outstanding lyrical and dramatic writing, which interprets Israel’s destiny with touching strength.”